Classic Design Concepts 110621 on 2040-parts.com

New 2013 Nissan LEAF goes the ‘Battery Lease’ route UPDATED

Even though you will be paying the same rate as you did in the first year, you’ll have to make do with the old batteries unless they fall below the 9 bar level, when Nissan will replace them under warranty. There is no doubt that Nissan are still convinced the future is the electric car, and the LEAF – the world’s best-selling electric car – is the future of motoring. And the LEAF is a convincing car if all you want is a well-built family car to transport you round your local area, even if it will cost an arm and a leg to buy in comparison to an ICE car.

Mercedes B Class F-Cell Hydrogen launched

Mercedes has announced the Hydrogen-Powered B-Class F-Cell The B Class F-Cell will go in to limited production later this year, and be leased to 200 customers in Europe and the US. The electric motor on the F-Cell is reckoned to be comparable to a 2.0 litre petrol car, but can manage the equivalent of 86.6 mpg. But it doesn’t suffer from the drawbacks of plug-in electric cars, taking just 3 minutes to refuel.

Multi-touch UI reduces touchscreen interaction to simple swipes [w/video]

Touchscreens have become widespread standard features in many cars over the last few years, consolidating the modern car's many functions into one interface. But despite their advantages there's the big downside of driver distraction, something user interface designer Matthaeus Krenn believes he has solved with his UI. Unlike most other touchscreens, Krenn's interface isn't organized into menus and small, hard-to-hit buttons, but instead makes use of multi-touch gestures, reducing the accuracy and attention needed to operate key functions.